Despite its somewhat foreboding title and subject matter, this Nanci Griffith song is upbeat and fun to play. “I Wish It Would Rain” was released by MCA in 1988 on Nanci’s 6th album titled “Little Love Affairs.” I hope you enjoy listening to the song as much as I enjoy playing it. I’m including a video of Nanci Performing in the late 1980’s. Just look at her beautiful smile. Here’s my cover.
While searching for a video of Bruce Springsteen playing his iconic hit “Born to Run,” I stumbled upon a video of Emmylou Harris singing “Born to Run.” Now, here’s the fascinating surprise: Emmylou is singing an entirely different song written by Paul Kennerly. And this song really rocks. Released in 1982 as the second single from Harris’ album Cimarron, “Born to Run” reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
Emmylou Harris sings like an Angel. She is a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee. I put Emmylou into my Hall of Fame alongside other Angels by the names of Eva Cassidy, Nanci Griffith, Linda Ronstadt, and Kate Wolf.
Here’s my cover of Paul Kennerly’s “Born to Run.”
“Long May You Run” is written by Neil Young. The song came alive for me when I heard Emmylou Harris and her band perform it. Now in her seventies, Emmylou is still beautiful and sings like an angel, as attested to in the video I’ve included.
After hearing Miss Harris’ version of the song, I began listening to many of her other reels on YouTube. She is a consummate, unique performer, not to mention beautiful. Emmylou’s music has remained consistently excellent throughout her forty-year career. Willie Nelson is quoted as saying, “There are two types of people in this world…those who love Emmylou and those who have not met her.”
Harris has released more than twenty-five albums. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Here’s my cover.
“Glenn Frey and Don Henley wrote this song together, and Frey sang lead. Along with “Desperado,” it was one of two songs they came up with in the first week that they started writing together. The songs formed the basis of the Eagles’ second album, with Frey and Henley comparing the life of a cowboy to that of a musician. “Tequila Sunrise” shows the transient nature of each lifestyle, as the singer falls for a woman who just wants to use him and move on. The theme didn’t immediately connect with the buying public, but the songs and the album stood the test of time.” *
Here’s my cover.
*Excerpted from Songfacts®
In this song, (Yusuf) Cat Stevens is singing to a woman he yearns for in a Human form. On another level, he may be singing, aware or unaware, to the Divine Feminine. In either case, the object of Stevens’ love is unattainable in the present. Yet, I believe, that the admirer (Stevens) continues to yearn for his beloved in the hope that he will, one day, meet his perfect love, in either or both Human and Divine forms. There are many interpretations of “How Can I Tell You.” In my view, the song is hopeful rather than despairing.
However one interprets “How Can I Tell you,” I feel that the song is filled with incredible beauty that cannot help but shine through.
And thank you, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), for your always beautiful, wise, and inspiring music.
Here’s my cover.
Many of Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ songs convey underlying messages about childhood and the relationships between children and adults, such as ‘Father & Son’ and ‘Oh Very Young,’ to name a few. “Where Do the Children Play?” is no exception. It becomes increasingly timely with each passing day, given the environmental crisis we are facing.
The song refers to the destruction of natural spaces caused by overdevelopment and industrialization. It asks a fundamental question: What future awaits our children when the spaces where they play are increasingly paved over and polluted?
“Where Do The Children Play” prompts us to consider the inherent features of the ‘progress’ we are making, as well as Humanity’s impact on planet Earth. Essentially, this beautiful and simple song begs for a balanced relationship between Human Beings and nature.
Typical of a Cat Stevens song, the rhythm is quite unique. Here’s my cover.
“Father and Son” is a song about the age-old story where the father’s vision for his son does not align with his son’s dreams for the future. Cat Stevens refurbishes the story with his unique and beautiful phrasing in the lyrics and melody.
It has taken me some time to warm up to this song due to the violent rift I had with my father regarding my future. My Dad passed away in 2006, and now, in my older years, I can see and appreciate the opportunities he gave me. I am at peace with the relationship, and I am inspired by my father’s accomplishments.
You might think this song pertains to Cat Stevens’ struggles with his father, but that is not the case. His father owned a Greek restaurant, and like all fathers, wanted his son to join the business. Stevens, of course, had vastly different ideas. Wisely, his father never stood in the way of his son’s dreams.
Stevens wrote this song, imagining a Russian father and son differing about the son’s future. “Father and Son” was originally planned as part of a stage play. The project never saw the light of day. Stevens eventually released the song on his “Tea for the Tillerman” album.
Here’s my cover.
This song is about a man who gives up his dreams to live a life of routine monotony due to the crushing necessity of earning a living.
In a 1997 interview with Mojo magazine, Browne said of this song: “I’m a big fan of ambiguity and its bountiful rewards, and ‘The Pretender’ is two things at once. It’s that person in all of us that has a higher ideal, and the part that has settled for compromise, like Truffaut says, there’s the movie you set out to make, and there’s the one you settle for. But in a more serious sense, ‘The Pretender’ is about 1960s idealism —the idea that life is about love, brotherhood, justice, social change, and enlightenment. These concepts were prevalent as our generation reached its stride, and later, we settled for something quite different. So when I say ‘Say a prayer for The Pretender,’ I’m talking about those people who are trying to convince themselves that there really was nothing to that idealism.” (excerpt from an article by SongFacts.com)
The boldface type is about a lyric in the song I could relate to most, since I lived through that period: “I want to know what became of the changes we waited for love to bring. Were they only the fitful dreams of some greater awakening?”
Here’s my cover of “The Pretender.”
Tom Paxton released “The Last Thing On My Mind” in 1964 on his album, Ramblin’ Boy.” The inspiration for the song came from Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan’s versions of “He Was A Friend of Mine.” This lost love ballad became one of Paxton’s biggest hits. He is also known for his protest songs against the Vietnam War and other social injustices. (What Did You Learn In School Today?)
“The Last Thing On My Mind” was one of the first songs I learned some forty years ago when I started playing the guitar. This is the first time I’ve released my cover publicly. The themes of the song include friendship, loss, and the passage of time.
Here’s my cover.
Bob Dylan recorded the first version of “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” in 1962. He didn’t release it until 1971 on his “Greatest Hits Album.” Oddly, Ian and Sylvia were the first recording artists to release the song in 1963 on their album “Four Strong Winds.”
The song is about longing for a loved one, specifically Suze Rotolo, who Dylan dated from 1961 to 1964. It is widely believed that another Dylan song, “Girl From The North Country,” is also about Rotolo.
Here’s my cover.
Heart Banter by David Gittlin 